Mumbai gets heavy rains after a month; yellow alert on Friday

According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the average rainfall in the island city stood at 58.88mm, western suburbs at 90.50mm, and eastern suburbs at 76.94mm

Mumbai: After a dry spell for more than a month, the city on Thursday witnessed heavy rainfall. Between 8am and 6pm, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) recorded 92.5mm of rain in Santacruz and 43.6mm in Colaba.

The M East ward office received 149.59mm of rainfall – the highest in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region – on Thursday, followed by Malwani fire station with 117.80mm. Andheri received 104mm, enough for the subway to close by 5pm. It reopened at 6:15pm. The Malad subway, too, was closed. (Vijay Bate/HT Photo)

According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the average rainfall in the island city stood at 58.88mm, western suburbs at 90.50mm, and eastern suburbs at 76.94mm.

“The city is seeing such rainfall after a whole month,” Sunil Kamble, head of the Regional Meteorological Centre, Mumbai, said. “There is a low pressure formed over the Bay of Bengal, and the interaction with strong westerlies has led to the downpour. Heavy rainfall will continue for the next 48 hours, after which it is likely to reduce in intensity.”

The M East ward office received 149.59mm of rainfall – the highest in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region – on Thursday, followed by Malwani fire station with 117.80mm. Andheri received 104mm, enough for the subway to close by 5pm. It reopened at 6:15pm. The Malad subway, too, was closed.

Mumbai, Thane and Palghar were put on a ‘yellow’ alert for Friday. While Mumbai will go back to green alert, heavy rainfall at isolated places will continue in Thane and Palghar for a day more.

Four tree falls in the eastern suburbs and seven in the western suburbs were reported, however, there were no injuries. Two cases of short-circuiting occurred in the eastern suburbs and four in the western suburbs.

Monsoon revival cuts down rainfall deficit

Meanwhile, the latest monsoon revival in the state has cut down around 6% rainfall deficit, according to the IMD. On September 5, the state recorded an 18% rainfall deficit with 697.5mm of rainfall, which was reduced to a 12% deficiency on Thursday, the IMD added.

The state has received 59.3mm of rainfall in the last 48 hours ending 8:30am on Thursday, and the overall average rainfall received from June 1 now stands at 756.80 mm.”

“As the westerlies are getting stronger, in the Madhya Maharashtra subdivision – the areas of Pune, Nashik, and Satara – will experience moderate rainfall in the next two to three days, while Marathwada and Vidarbha will experience widespread light rainfall for the next two to three days. All subdivisions will experience thunder activities, along with lightning and gusty winds. Konkan and Goa subdivisions will experience isolated heavy rainfall in the upcoming five to seven days,” Anupam Kashyapi, head of the Weather and Forecasting Division, IMD, Pune said.

He added that the partial revival of monsoon will help the state to recover the rainfall deficit to some extent, however, it is to be seen how much deficiency will be covered in districts that are experiencing a large rainfall deficiency.